Chalkboard Table

I’m still working on the downloads – thank you all for your kind comments about the canisters and such.

OK, since everyone in the blogosphere seems to have days like “Thrifty Thursday” or Furniture Friday” I had hoped, today, to initiate Tuesday Tips wherein I share, and encourage you to share, helpful tips for furniture repair, painting or crafts in general (I contemplated calling it “Tipsy Tuesday” but thought that might draw the wrong crowd).

However my first “tip” is that, if you’re planning to initiate a Tuesday Tips post you need to actually come up with some tips in advance. So……

Stay tuned next week for my new series Tuesday Tips!

You’re all going to think I have a thing for making children’s furniture but let me explain.

I seem to acquire a lot of short furniture. It all used to be tall furniture, mind you, but at some point the previous owners appear to have made a “correction.” I’m not sure what goes on in these households but apparently their problems are solved by cutting the legs off their furniture. This strikes me as a little drastic but who am I to judge?

Anyway, such was the case with a little, square topped table I acquired. It had a nice solid top that actually rotated but it was waaaay to short to be of much use to anyone. However, the price was right and grabbed it before thinking it through.

And at this point I need to confess that I can’t for the life of me find the “before” pic of it. But trust me, it was beat-up, short, and in need of a serious makeover. (Insert your own “sounds like my ex” or, “enough about you David what about the table” joke here)

So, it just sat around being short and ugly for quite a while until I came across this terrific idea for a kids table from one of my favorite blogs Maple and Magnolia

and my brain started percolating. (click the picture for the link to her full post – she does terrific, inspiring work)

I thought it would be fun to do something similar with my too-little table but with a chalkboard twist. So I sanded (a lot) and painted it white and then painted chalkboard paint on the top. I was pleased but thought it needed a little something else. Perhaps a place to put the chalk?

That’s when I came across some fluted molding at Home Depot. It’s very affordable and it’s supposed to go this way

but if you flip it over

the perfect chalk resting spot!

So I cut each corner at 45 degrees and framed out the top of the table.

And the result was this

Do you like my imitation “child-like” drawing? I was going to make up a story about how I had my niece come over but A) my youngest niece is 16 and sooo over chalk drawing and B) I realized my own drawing skills are perfectly in keeping with what an 7 year old would do! How convenient!

Now I just need some little, tiny people chairs to complete the display!

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About cheltenhamroad

I’ve been surrounded by amazingly creative people my whole life.
My mom can, and does, make anything. The family has on occasion speculated that she just whipped up my dad one day when she discovered some left over fabric and stuffing. My three sisters have mad skills ranging from needlework to cooking to out and out ART. My father’s desk when I was growing up had a model train set going around it, oh, and he made that desk-from scratch.
I’m the youngest and, as you can imagine, it’s a hard series of acts to follow. Truth be told, I’ve spent many, many years suppressing the creative instincts I learned at home.
But I realized (rather late in life) that few things bring me more joy than making and creating. For the longest time when I went to stores I didn’t think, “I want that” I thought, “I can make that.” And, with a deep breath and a leap, I’ve started on a very new, kinda scary path. I’ve given up my steady, dependable (dull!) corporate life to spend my days happily humming away in my garage designing, creating, painting, decoupaging and sawing and, since this blog will be an honest take on things, there is also a fair amount of tripping, spilling and swearing.
Through this blog I hope to share with you the struggles and (hopefully) triumphs of a very non-businessy business person. I also hope to make this blog a resource for people who like to work with their hands and who are, like me, always looking at things and thinking “I could make that!”
I’ve lived many places since I left Cheltenham Road; I currently live in Los Angeles California.
So, with this preamble- Welcome to Cheltenham Road! Please come on over and make yourself comfortable – the place is always open.

David, that is just BRILLIANT! I love the end result. How very creative to use the molding…a perfect chalk holder and a beautiful “finishing touch.” Thanks for the link back and the very kind words. I’m off to explore your blog! 🙂

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Welcome to Cheltenham Road

Welcome to Cheltenham Road. I’m a fairly late-blooming but passionate crafter, builder and renovator and this is where I share all of my adventures and misadventures. To learn more about me and my growing business click on my picture. Thanks for stopping by.